Guidance for preparing manuscripts for submission to JDR

We are very pleased that you are considering publishing in Journal of Dairy Research, the international journal of the lactation sciences. Carefully following the advice given on this page will help you to get your research published. Please study it carefully, even if you have published with us before. 

Original research may be submitted using the Submission Form either as a full paper or a research communication, but in the Journal both types will be classified as Research Article with no discrimination between the two. Please read our Publication Policy Statement or the descriptions given below to decide which is the appropriate style for your research. Take note that we strongly encourage shorter, concise and focused  articles that make full use of our Supplementary File option. We also publish Research Reviews and Research Reflections, but please note that Research Reviews can be submitted by invitation only, and using the dedicated Invited Article form . 

If you have already read the guidance and your manuscript is ready, go to Submit your Manuscript Otherwise, please continue to read the guidance given below.

Is JDR the right Journal for my research?
JDR is an authoritative international peer-reviewed Journal focused on the science of lactation. We interpret lactation broadly.The remit covers the dairy foods chain:
  • Feed input
  • Biology of lactating animals
  • Biology of the mammary gland
  • Milk quality
  • Technology of processed dairy foods
  • Consumers
JDR's ability to cover the entire dairy foods chain is a major strength. In its core interests of the mammary gland and milk, JDR embraces a broad multidisciplinarity across all mammalian species. We welcome research related to human lactation and lactation in other non-dairy species, in addition to dairy species.

JDR is a specialised interest Journal with a broad remit. For research at the extremities of this range, it is necessary that a clear link to more central parts of the remit can be demonstrated. For instance, animal nutrition per se is unlikely to be publishable, but nutrition that affects the physiology of the lactating animal or impacts on milk yield or composition is welcomed. Equally, processed dairy product technology that has no relationship to any aspect of the primary production is unlikely to be publishable, unless there is a clearly demonstrated benefit to the consumer.  

JDR does not prioritise between different parts of the central remit, and it does not categorise published articles. Each issue will follow the dairy foods chain, so the issue will typically start with feeding related articles and finish with consumer related.
 
JDR considers submissions as Research Papers and Research Communications. Research Papers report hypothesis-driven research of international impact. Research Communications are shorter. In addition to international impact research, JDR Research Communications can also report descriptive studies of regional or technical interest. JDR subscribes to the view that good research exists in different forms and can be communicated in different ways, so the Journal does not prioritise one type of article above the other and there is no categorisation by article type: ion the published Jopurnal all original research appears as Research Articles. 

JDR strongly encourages brevity and clarity. All original research (whether submitted as Research Paper or Research Communication) can be published with an associated Supplementary File that provides supporting materials, in order to focus the main article on the essential information. Using this option will increase your chances of publication and you are strongly advised to do so. 

JDR also publishes Research Reviews and Research Editorials. These categories are by invitation only. 

JDR is published 4 times per year.  In addition, articles accepted for publication are published online as First View papers as soon as the proof is approved.

JDR has no page charges. Publication is free, with the exception of colour images. These are free in the online version but there will be a charge if you choose colour images in the hardcopy Journal. We normally recommend authors to opt for colour online and black/white hardcopy.
 
Is my research right for JDR?
To be published as a full research paper, your research must advance knowledge of lactation science in a significant way and there should be clear benefit to human society or to dairy animals. In addition, your research should be:
  • Likely to have international impact
  • Hypothesis driven or possessing a very clear aim
  • Presented clearly and succinctly with a minimum of essential figures and tables

My research is descriptive; can I still publish in JDR?
  • Descriptive research will not normally be published as a JDR Research Paper
  • JDR will also publish peer reviewed Research Communications
  • Descriptive research of regional or technical interest can be published in this format
  • There are limits on the amount of data that can be included in both Papers and Communications. Additional data can be published online as Supplementary Files

Can JDR publish my cutting edge research quickly?
  • Research Communications selected as Cutting Edge will appear online within 2 or 3 weeks of submission
  • Selection is an Editorial Decision

Can I publish my review article in JDR?
  • Review articles are by invitation only
  • You can submit a proposed topic; use the contact form

What are the golden rules for a good manuscript?
  • Be brief: use a Supplementary File for data, detailed materials and methods and other information that is not essential to the main story 
  • Be clear
  • Be accurate
  • Start with a clear hypothesis (preferred), aim or objective
  • Present a logical story that addresses the hypothesis
  • Support the story with relevant and essential data
  • Avoid unnecessary data: supporting data should be in a Supplementary File
  • Relate the findings to a small number of relevant and essential citations
  • Avoid unnecessary citations
  • End with a clear conclusion, that directly relates to the hypothesis
  • Use the Supplementary File option for all non-essential supporting material 

What are the most common mistakes, that I should avoid?
  • Most submitted manuscripts are longer than they should be
  • Many do not have a clearly stated hypothesis, aim or objective
  • Most include data or other materials that are not essential
  • Many include citations that are not essential
  • Some do not use the correct citation style in reference list

My research is relevant for JDR and I am ready to write my Research Paper. What should I do?
  • Download and read the JDR Instructions to Authors
  • Download and study the example manuscript and example published paper
  • Follow the manuscript style carefully!
  • Pay attention to the annotated notes in the example manuscript!
  • If English is not your native language, try to get help from a native English-speaking colleague, or contact the Editorial Office for guidance

I am wishing to prepare a Research Communication. What should I do?
  • Follow the JDR instructions to Authors and be careful to restrict your manuscript to around 2000 words of text and no more than one or two tables or figures
  • Supply detailed methodologies, supporting data and other non-essential materials as a Supplementary File
  • The summary should be no more than one short paragraph; no data
  • There should be no more than around 10 key citations​
JDR supports ORCiD and you will have the opportunity to provide your ORCiD ID at submission. More 
Once you are ready, go to Submit Manuscript 

Manuscript
 types

Manuscript lengths are quoted in text equivalents (TEQ) where one word is one TEQ, one figure is 250 TEQ and one table is 250 TEQ. We encourage conciseness, and strongly recommend the use of a Supplementary File for both Research Papers and Research Communications.

Research Papers
Max length: around 6000 TEQ
Optimum length: as short as possible
Hypothesis driven: yes
Descriptive: not normally
Impact: international
Citations: minimal essential
Peer review: 6 week target
First view online: yes
Publication: first available issue

Research Communications
Max length: around 2500 TEQ
Optimum length: 2000 TEQ or less
Hypothesis driven: yes
Descriptive: yes
Impact: international or national
Citations: around 10 maximum
Peer review: 6 weeks target 
First view online: yes 
Publication: first available issue

Supplementary Files
JDR strongly encourages brevity and clarity. To keep your manuscript as short as possible, please make full use of our Supplementary File option.
  • Figures and tables included with the main manuscript must be essential for the understanding of the research.
  • The materials and methods section of the main manuscript must clearly state how the research was done, but need not give full details of established methods or analyses.
  • Detailed methodologies (to allow repetition) and data files (figures, tables) that report supporting or purely descriptive information should be supplied as a separate supplementary file
JDR Publication Policy Statement

​To ensure that we can publish as much high quality research as possible, we have a strict policy of encouraging shorter, concise articles that report novel findings which are highly relevant to our scope and are likely to have significant international or national impact.   We have two formats: Full Papers report hypothesis led research, in other words, a hypothesis must be presented and tested and the conclusions must clearly indicate whether or not the hypothesis was supported by the experimental results. Research Communications are of equal scientific merit and report high-quality hypothesis-led or descriptive research in a way that focuses attention on the novel findings. This is our preferred category for most research. For both types of article we strongly encourage the use of a Supplementary File to provide supporting information such as non-essential data and detailed methodologies. This file can be of any length and is published online linked to the main article. Providing a Supplementary File ensures that the main article is as concise as possible

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